Mower



July 29, 1952 s, W- HAYES 2,604,748

MowER Filed NOV. 26, 1947 3 SheebS-Sheet l :s N n I S. W. HAYES July 29, 1952 MOWER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 26, 1947 s. w. HAYES 2,604,748

MOWER 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 NQ Y Y 4.' o D o a o V @j O o assis l? July 29, 1952 Filed Nov. 26, 1947 Patented July 29, 1952 PATENT" OFFICE MowER `Application November 26, 1947, Serial No. '788,155

1.3V Claims.

The present invention relates to mowers and more particularly to power operated mowers capable of both light and heavy duty operation, such as encountered in the mowing of large lawns, parks, orchards, and the like.

' One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedmower characterized in simplicity and ruggedness of construction and a construction which will enable the mower to be operated for long periods of time without excessive heating or requiring Y an excessive amount of lubrication.

A further object ofthe `present invention is to provide a new and improved mower characterized by a cutter assembly which canbe readily attached to the mower and detached therefrom in the event repairs are necessary to the` cuttingT elements. f Y

A further object of the present invention'is to provide a new and improved mower comprising a readily detachable cutter assembly and a drive cooperatively associated therewith and in which the drive itself is of an improved and efficient are omitted from this figure.` but they' may'be of Fig. 6is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along'the line` 6:-6l of 2 illustrating details of the means .forfattachingthe cutter assembly to the mower;

Before proceeding with the detailed description of the present invention,it may be stated that the present invention relates to certain structural andoperating vfeatures of the" drive for the cutting mechanism of a mower, sucha's a 'sickle type power-driven mower. which mower may be of the type illustrated and described in my earlier United States Patent No. 2,328,803. For this reason the mower has not been illustrated completely, although so much of it is shown as is required for an adequate understanding of the present invention.

The mower includes a'pair of main longitudinally extending side frame members I0 and l2 (see Fig. 2) interconnected by suitable crosspieces, of which only a limited number are shown. Among the crosspieces are a rear main supporting crosspiece I4, a front main shaft supporting crosspiece I6, and a front plate' IB (see particularly Fig. 1).

The frame is'supported'upon four wheels, of which but the two front wheels 20 are shown. The rear wheels, not shown, are driven through a rearwardly extending drive shaft 22 near the front end of which is secured a sprocket wheel 24 driven by a chain 26 extending therefrom to a sprocket wheel 2B having vits hub 3D secured to a clutch plate 32 forming part of a clutch 34 adapted selectively to be engaged to connect vthe sprocket wheel to a main drive shaft 36 extending centrally between the side frames and supported by previously referred to crosspieces I4 and I6. This clutch is adapted to be engaged by a yoke 38 operatively connectedv to aY rock shaft 43 operable in suitable manner.

The front wheels are supported from the side plates upon a crosspiece 42 of angle iron. This crosspiece is supported below and from the side frames by short angleiron supports 44, see Figs. 1, 2 and 4. The crosspiece'42 is also'braced by the short angularly and rearwardly extending braces 46, the rear Vends of which are secured to a crosspiece 48 suspended below the side frames by the short supports 50, see Fig. l. y l

The wheels are adjustably mounted relative to the side frame. The mounting includes vertically disposed supports 52 secured at the ends of the crosspiece 42. The wheelsare suspended from vertical hangers 54 which are secured by suitable means, such as the bolts 5B, in desired vertical relation to the supports 52. Y

The present invention pertains particularly to the driving and supporting means for the cutting mechanism. The cutting mechanism may take rvarious forms butis disclosed as being'- arecip.- rocable sickle type cutter, indicated asa whole by the reference character '60. It includes-the reciprocably mounted-cutter knives 6.2 secured 'to a reciprocating lsupport` Sll'handthe' iguards 56,

which are adapted to bev secured to a cutter bar 88 which, in accordance with one of the features of the present invention is detachably secured to the mower and particularly to the crosspiece 42.

The advantage of the detachable cutter bar assembly is that it enables the various parts of the cutter mechanism readily to be repaired whenever necessary. The knives and guards, which are also attached to the cutter bar, need to be sharpened or renewed when damaged. This makes it necessary to take the cutter bar assembly olf quite frequently and with the arrangement of the present invention this can be done easily. All that is required is theunlocking of the cutter bar assembly by removal of a, couple of connecting pins 10, see Fig. 2, after which` thel front end of the machine canbe liftedup insuitable manner with the result that the cutter bar assembly drops out. The lifting or the front end of the machine can. be accomplished veryy easily by depressingthfe guiding handles, not shown, whichextend rearwardly from the mower.

'Ihe cutter bar assembly includes the cutting mechanism 80, the cutter bar 08 and the means for supporting the latter from the crosspiece 42. The supporting means includes av generally trapezoidal plate 12 securedto theback side of the cutter bar (see Figs. 1 and 3) and which is secured to what may be considered a vertical post structure comprising a pair of diverging plates 14, thefront edges of which` are welded together, and a iiat back plate 'IG Welded to the rear edges of platesA 14 and adapted tov abut against the front iiange of the crosspiece 42, and

a plate 'I8 secured and extending downwardly below the frame frompthe front flange of the crosspiece.

The cutter assembly is readily and properly positioned relative to the crosspiece 42 by means including a hook 80 passing through an opening 82 near the lower end of plate 'H5v of the cutter assembly post and to which it is secured as by welding. The hook passes. through a generally U-shaped slot 84 located in the plate 18, see particularly Fig. 4.

The cutter assembly is additionally positioned relative to the crosspiece42 and also mounted on or'secured to the'latter by forwardly extending vertical abutment anges or plates 86 and 88 immovably secured to the front flange of the crosspiece and similariianges or platesv S0. and 92 immovably secured to the cutter bar post back plate 110, so that when properly assembled, the two sets of flanges abut against each other.

The cutter bar assembly is detachably secured to the crosspiece by the connecting pins 'i0 which pass through aligned apertures in the adjacent pairs of plates86, 88, 90 and 92.. The pins also pass through apertured plates 94, S8 secured to the crosspiece 42 in spaced relation to the plates 86 and 88. The spacing is such that the horizontal portions of the pins keep the cutter bar assembly securely in place. To prevent undesired release of the cutter bar assembly, the plates 04 and 96 are provided with radial slots 88 and the pins with corresponding radially outwardly ex'- tending projections |00. The slots are so located that the pins canA be inserted only when the vertical parts thereof are moved angularly upward. The pins likewise cannot be detached rby axial movement with the vertical parts extending downwardly as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. Cotter pins are also passed through the pins to prevent undesired removal thereof.

Another feature ofthe invention resides in the means for driving the cutting mechanism, which means is characterized by its simplicity, ruggedness and eii'icient operation and a further feature resides in the operative connection between the driving means and the cutter bar assembly enabling the latter readily to be detached from the mower whenever desired.

The operative connection between the reciprocable cutter knife carrying bar, 6,4 and the driving mechanism includes a generally vertically arranged oscillatable driving rod or arm |02 located above the bar and the lower end of which is detachably connected to the bar B4. This detachable connection includes a socket |04 secured to the. top-side of the reciprocable cutter knife carrying bar 64 and an enlarged knob or ball |06 secured to the lower end of the arm |02 so that it constitutes an integral part thereof, and which for convenience is called a hammer and which fits movably within the socket |04.

The arm |02 is oscillated throughr a novel mechanism formingone of the important features of thisinvention. It is oscillated through power derived from the main shaft 30 and when a clutch, indicated by the reference character |08, is engaged. The clutch includes a clutch plate ||0 operatively connected to the arm* |02, in a manner to be describedA shortly, andv a movable clutch engaging platefl I2 mounted upon a hub ||4 keyed to the shafty 36. The clutch is engaged through the operation of a rock shaft I0 operatively connected to a-yokei I8 connected in turn to a sleeve |20 axially'movable to engage and disengage ther clutch through a toggle mechanism, not shown but which may be like that in my earlier issued patent.

The driving arm |02 is oscillated by a crank shaft |22 adapted to be driven throughA the clutch |08 when the latterA is engaged. The crankV shaft |22 is connected to the clutch through a crank arm- |24 secured, as by welding, to a tube |26 secured atvits inner end to the clutch plate ||0 and provided with a central bronze bushing |28 wherein the reduced diameter end |30 of the main shaft 36 isy rotatable. The tube is journaled for rotation in a roller bearing |32-in apillow-bloek |3.4secured tothe front crosspiece lr6 or, more specifically, toa short horie zontal plate |36 welded to-the top thereof; as by apair of cap screws |38; seeFig. 2.

The driving arm |02 is operatively connected to the crank shaft |22 through a connecting rod |40 and a pair ofintermediate arms |42interconnecting the main shaft: |44randa. top shaft y |48, see-Fig. 1.

crosspiece I6 with, al .generallyA Ugshaped andinverted slot |60 at its lower end:v

The front plate |8 is secured,v to. .thefront ends.-

of the side frames, or more particularly', to, a pair of supporting plates |62;welded to the front ends of the side frame members-l0 and` 2. The plates and front plate areY aperturedifor thereception of'securing boltsl 84. r

The shaft I4 4 is oscillated through Vthe two, arms |42 which are welded thereto-at ,opposite sides of the driving arm |02. The ntop shaft |46 is xedly secured to the upper ends of the intermediate arms and it and the crank shaft |22 are connected to theconnecting rod |40 throughthe self aligning ball bearings |66 and, |68. respectively. f, Y

Among the advantages of the above described construction are that the parts are self-aligning, friction is reduced to a and thebearings may be lubricated readily through conventional pressure type fittings. Also, the bushing |28 in which the reduced end |30 of the main shaft is journaled can readily be lubricated through a conduit |10 leading thereto through the crank arm |24, as illustrated in Fig. 1. Y

It is believed that the operation and advantages of the structure as a whole of the present invention will be apparent from the foregoing,

but they will be reviewed briefly. Both the cutter assembly and the cutter driving mechanism may be constructed and fabricated simply and economically. In largemeasure, the parts are of plate material so that they can be readily secured to each other as by welding.

The cutter assembly may be readily attached to and detached from the mower. After it has been attached, as it is indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, it can be readily detached 1 and separated from the mower so that parts of the cutter which need repair or replacement can be made readily accessible for this purpose. To detach the cutter assembly. all that is necessary is that the cotter pins be removedI the pins 'l0 be rotated so that the locking projections |00 thereon are in alignment with the slots 98. In this position, the pins can be moved outwardly to release the cutter assembly from the crosspiece 42. The cutter assembly can readily be separated from the Imower and the mower moved away simply by tipping the mower around its rear wheels which can be done easily by depressing a handle attached to the mower. To reassemble the mower after the necessary repairs have been made, it is 'necessary only to bring the mower near the cutter bar assembly, lift it, and then maneuver it to the approximate position relative to the cutter assembly. The mower can then be lowered into place and the cutter assembly properly located and positioned. The positioning is readily effected by locking the hook 80 in the slot 84 in the depending plate 18 and locking the plates 90 and 92 adjacent to the plates 86 and 88 on the crosspiece. Thereafter, the assembly can be locked to the mower by reinsertion of the pins 10.

The cutter knives are reciprocated whenever the mower is operating and the clutch |08 engaged. When the clutch is engaged, the clutch plate ||0 is driven to rotate crank shaft |22 through the intermediary of the tube |26 and crank arm |24.\ The crank shaft |22 oscillates the connecting rod |40 and the latter in turn oscillates the arm |02 and its shaft |44 through the arms |42. The mechanism is self-aligning and the use of the ball bearings minimizes the friction to such an extent that frequent lubrication is unnecessary.

The operative connection between the drive and the cutter includes the socket |04 and the intertting ball |06 at the lower end of the arm |02. This driving connection is readily detachable and facilitates assembly and disassembly of the cutter mechanism.

While but a singleembodiment of the invention has .been describedin detail, it .should be understood that the details thereof are not intended to be limitative of the invention except in so far as set forth in the` accompanying claims.

' Having this described my invention, what I claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a mower, a frame having a part extending transversely of the mower, a generally vertically Varranged forwardly facing plate secured fto and depending from said transversely extending frame part, a cutting mechanism assembly including a post structure and a cutter bar supported thereby, said post structure including at its lower end a forwardly extending base plate Isecured directly to said cutter bar and a vertical post having a vertically extending backplate, said post being secured to said base plate, and means for detachably securing said post structure to said frame with said backplate in abutting relationship -with said transversely extending frame part and said forwardly facing depending plate.

e 2. In a mower, a frame having a part extending transversely of the mower, a generally vertically arranged forwardly facing plate secured to and depending from said transversely extending frame part at the center thereof, a cutting mechanism assembly including a post structure and a cutter bar supported thereby, said pos-t structure including at its lower `end a. forwardly extending .base plate secured directly to said cutter bar at the center thereof and a vertical post having a vertically extending backplate and secured to said base plate, and cooperating means carried by said'transversely extending frame part yand by said backplate for detachably securing said assembly to said frame with said backplate in abutting relationship with said transversely extending frame part and said forwardly facing fdepending plate.

3. A mower as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cooperating securing means comprises spaced apart longitudinally and forwardly extending positioning and mounting members on said transversely extending fram-e part, spaced apart longirtudinally extending vertical positioning and mounting members on said backplate adapted to abut against said positioning and mounting members on said frame part, and means associated with both said positioning and mounting members for securing said cutting mechanism assembly to said frame to be supported thereby.

4. In a mower, a frame, a plate secured to and -depending from said frame in vertical position, a cutting mechanism including reciprocable cutrting means, a cutter bar supporting the cutting means and a post structure supporting the cutter lbar, said post structure including at its lower end la forwardly extending base plate secured directly to the cutter bar and a vertical post having a vertically disposed backplate and secured to said Ibase plate, and means operatively connecting said lpost structure to said first named plate and said frame in abutting relationship.

5. A mower as claimed in claim 4, wherein said first named plate has a locating and positioning slot in its lower edge, and including a hook on said post structure adapted to fit into said slot Ito locate said cutting mechanism relative to said frame.

6. In a mower, a frame having a transverse fpart and spaced apart longitudinally and forwardly extending positioning and mounting members on the transverse part, a cutting mechanism assembly including spaced apart longitudinally extendingpositioning.'and mount--Y ing membersLthere-on adapted t'oabut against theI positioning and'nio'unting members on said framelpart, additional. longitudinally andlforwardly ex. tending memberson said 'frame part each spaced 4from an associated. one ofsaidnfirst mentioned positioning and mounting-membersand the mem :ber abuttingthereagainst,r all' of! said members having. aligned; apertures, and a .pair of -pins each. adapted to extend through; theiapertures in.l one of each of saidmembers.'` i.

'7'. In a: mowenrasaclaimed; in.; v6; wherein... said. pins have radial -projections;and saidyaddify tional members-haveradial slots through which'v said pins maybe passed;

8. In a mowena;framefhav-ing spaced apar-t longitudinally andjforwardly extendingposition-A ing and-,mounting members anda dependentA vertically disposedv plate with aguidingslot at itsy lower enda cutting mechanism assembly com-f prising spaced apart longitudinally extending;

positioning. and. mounting. .membersv -thereon adapted to abut4 against the positioning and mounting members onsaid frameanda hook adapted to be receivedV in4 said slot,. and means..

.associated with both said positioningand .mountingmembers for securingV saidrassembly. to4 said.

support.

9. In a` mower, a frame, recprocable. cutting means supported4 on. said' frame,v and a vdrive operatively connected tosaidcuttingmeans, said drive comprising a single. dependent. armwitha ball-.like hammeinat its lower end, a shaf tsecured 'tol and supporting. .said arm,- apair y-of transverse spaced apart supports .secured vto saidframe. for.

10.. In a mower, spaced transverse supporting structures'. at the 'Vforward end of` said mower, reciprocablecutting means, means....detachably supporting. saidY cutting. means from .one of said supporting structures., means including anoscil.

latabl'e arm" supportedffrom -anotherof said supportingV structures,' and a detachableA connection 'conn-ectingfsaid cutting meansand said voscillat- -ablefarmA so that said. oscillatablearm may reciprocate said -cutting5 means, said detachable connection'including a socket-onthe reciprocablc element of`A 'said cuttingA means and a portion of said arm movably tting into said socket.

l1. vIn a-.mower, a frame, reciprocable cutting,r means supported on said frame, and a drive operatively connected* to vreciprocate said cutting means, said` drive comprising an oscillatable dependent arm withan operative vconnection to said cuttingmeans at itsf lower end, a substantially horizontal longitudinally. extending shaft secured "toV said; frame-andsupporting said arm, at least one intermediatearmsecured to saidshaft, a top shaftfsecuredltosaid intermediate arm. a rotat- 'ablel substantially.'y horizontal longitudinally ex- .tending driving member, a crank Varm secured to saidd'riving memberI Vanda connecting rod movably. connectedto-said crank arm and said top shaft..

122 A'. mower asclaimedzn claim 11v including arotatable driving shaft, andwherein said driv- STANLEY W. HAYES.

` REFERENGES CITED Thevfollowing references 1 are of record in the file-ofthis patent:

UNITEDv STATES PATENTS Number Name DateV 1,567,055-v Hufl Dec. 29, 1925 1,823,267 Gilardi Sept. 15, 1931 2,328,803.. ,Hayes- Sept. 7, 1943 2,368,290 Donald Jan. 30, 1945 vDonald' Mar. 26, 1946 

